# METHODOLOGY — GDP Evolution in Latin America by Country (2000-2024)
## Dataset: doi:10.7910/DVN/8H64DT | Version: 2.0 | Updated: 2026-03-19
## Author: de la Serna, Juan Moises (International University of La Rioja)

## 1. OBJECTIVES
This dataset tracks nominal GDP in Latin America (2000-2024), enabling cross-country comparisons of economic size, growth, sector structure, and global weight for 11 major economies.

## 2. DATA SOURCES
| Source | Indicator | API Code |
|---|---|---|
| World Bank WDI | GDP current USD | NY.GDP.MKTP.CD |
| World Bank WDI | GDP per capita USD | NY.GDP.PCAP.CD |
| World Bank WDI | GDP per capita PPP | NY.GDP.PCAP.PP.CD |
| World Bank WDI | GDP annual growth % | NY.GDP.MKTP.KD.ZG |
| World Bank WDI | Agriculture % GDP | NV.AGR.TOTL.ZS |
| World Bank WDI | Industry % GDP | NV.IND.TOTL.ZS |
| World Bank WDI | Services % GDP | NV.SRV.TOTL.ZS |
| World Bank WDI | Trade % GDP | NE.TRD.GNFS.ZS |
| World Bank WDI | Gini index | SI.POV.GINI |
| IMF WEO Apr 2024 | GDP estimates 2023-2024 | — |
| UNDP HDR 2023 | HDI | — |
| ECLAC CEPALSTAT | Regional verification | — |

Data collected 2025-2026 via Perplexity AI with primary source verification.

## 3. COUNTRIES (n=11)
Brazil, Mexico, Argentina, Colombia, Chile, Peru, Venezuela, Ecuador, Bolivia, Uruguay, Paraguay. Selected by: largest economies, data availability 2000-2024, geographic coverage.

## 4. DATA PROCESSING
- GDP: current US dollars, billions
- GDP per capita: current USD and PPP international dollars
- Venezuela 2014+: IMF Article IV estimates (uncertainty ±20%)
- Temporal benchmarks: 2000, 2005, 2010, 2015, 2020, 2023, 2024

## 5. DERIVED VARIABLES
- avg_growth_2000_2024: arithmetic mean of available annual growth rates
- std_dev_growth: sample standard deviation of annual growth rates
- global_share: (Country GDP / World GDP) x 100
- trade_openness: (Exports + Imports) / GDP x 100
- gdppc_growth_2000_2024: (gdppc_2024 - gdppc_2000) / gdppc_2000 x 100

## 6. LIMITATIONS
1. Nominal comparisons affected by exchange rate fluctuations.
2. Venezuela data quality limited from 2014 onward.
3. 2024 GDP are estimates subject to revision.
4. AI-assisted collection; spot-checks performed against primary sources.

## 7. REPRODUCIBILITY
World Bank API: https://api.worldbank.org/v2/country/{ISO3}/indicator/{CODE}
IMF WEO: https://www.imf.org/en/Publications/WEO/weo-database/2024/April
ECLAC: https://estadisticas.cepal.org/cepalstat/

## 8. CITATION
de la Serna, Juan Moises, 2026, "GDP Evolution in Latin America by Country (2000-2024)", https://doi.org/10.7910/DVN/8H64DT, Harvard Dataverse, V2.